ICICI Direct Brokerage Options

On Saturday I received an email from ICICI Direct informing me about a new choice in their brokerage plan.Â A brokerage plan is a set of terms and conditions about the commissions you pay ICICI Direct for your trades.

Till now, there was only one plan, and everyone using ICICI Direct used to pay fees according to that plan. However, from January 1st 2010, ICICI Direct has introduced a new plan, and now you have an option of selecting the plan which makes most sense for you.

The two plans are called:

I-Saver

I-Secure

The main difference between the two plans is the brokerage commission on cash. The â€“ I-Secure â€” plan charges a flat brokerage of 0.55%, while the â€“ I-Save plan has a tiered rate, where the more you trade, — the lesser commission you pay.

I switched my plan from I-Saver to I-Secure, because the new one will work out cheaper for me. I will never trade the volume necessary to get my rate lower to 0.55% under the I-Saver plan, so the flat rate plan is best for me.

Hereâ€™s a look at the two plans for cash:

ICICI Direct I-Saver Plan

Total Eligible Turnover

(per calendar quarter)

Brokerage %

Second Leg of Trades

Effective brokerage on Intraday Square-off

Above Rs. 5 Crores

0.25%

Nil

0.125%

Rs. 2 crores to 5 crores

0.30%

Nil

0.150%

Rs. 1 crore to 2 crores

0.35%

Nil

0.175%

Rs. 50 lakhs to 1 crores

0.45%

Nil

0.225%

Rs. 25 lakhs to 50 lakhs

0.55%

Nil

0.275%

Rs. 10 lakhs to 25 lakhs

0.70%

Nil

0.350%

Less than Rs. 10 lakhs

0.75%

Nil

0.375%

ICICI Direct I-Secure Plan

Total Eligible Turnover

(per calendar quarter)

Brokerage %

Second Leg of Trades

Effective brokerage on Intraday Square-off

Irrespective of turnover

0.55%

Nil

0.275%

For someone who predominantly trades less than 50 lakhs in cash in a quarter, the flat rate option is going to be cheaper. I fall under that category and so I selected that plan.

Apart from this commission, there are other charges that apply. Here is a list of those other charges:

Service Tax (ST) will be charged at 10.30% on total value of brokerage.

Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at 0.125% on turnover.

SEBI turnover charges at 0.0001% on turnover.

Transaction Charges will be charged @ 0.0031% for NSE and 0.0035% for BSE on turnover.

Applicable State wise Stamp Duty charges as per delivery and non-delivery would be levied on turnover.

The minimum trade value accepted is Rs .500. Â The minimum brokerage for transactions upto Rs 3335 is Rs 25 or 2.5% whichever is lower. All statuary charges would be levied over and above minimum brokerage. Â Brokerage rate mentioned above would be levied for trade value exceeding Rs. 3335.

The charges for options, futures and margin trading for both plans are same, so that doesnâ€™t come into play while selecting a brokerage plan.

If you use ICICI Direct for trading, then take a look at your investing habits, and select the brokerage plan that works out cheapest for you. This will be applicable from 1st January 2010 onwards.

The reason for coming up with new Brokerage plan is due to stiff competion amoung brokerage houses and ICICI securities loosing its market share due to high brokerage. If one looks at flat brokerage rate offered by other brokerage houses even 0.55% flat brokerage offered by ICICI direct is still on the higher side. Well on tiered rate plan …I-Saver (Slabwise brokerage based on transaction volume/Turnover) one needs to clearly understand the underlying facts very clearly which are overlooked by most of the people. In this plan ICICI direct has smartly created a slab wise brokerage plan which depends on your turnover of the transaction volument within one quarter. But on the transaction which are being done in that quarter it always charges you brokerage as per highest brokerage slab(0.75%) even for a single day transactions even if it fits in the lower brokerage slab(say 0.55%). By doing this ICICI direct is not only enjoying on the excess brokerage that they are charging their customer(for no reason) but also not paying any interest on the excess amount charged for the said period. Well, therefore be careful in case you are dealing with ICICI direct as they are still charging you higher brokerage upfront in I-Saver Brokerage plan.

On 21.04.2010 I purchased the DLFLIM 150 SHARES in margin but however these share were no authomatically squired off at shchudled time.There after I observed that abour 1000 brokage charges were deducted. I am unable to under stand the reason of so high which is not in any parameter which has threteaned me not to trade . Please clerify.

We would also like to inform you, that in line with market practices there is a small revision in brokerage stucture only for stocks which are traded at 10 or below. The changes are going to be as under:

Earlier the brokerage on I secure & I saver was 0.55% & 0.75% on entire traded amount

Now, the brokerage will be 5 paise per share

The changes will be effective from July 1, 2012 only on delivery segment.

Brokerage will be charge on number of stocks but not on value of bull stocks.Small stock brokerage will be charged on stock value .please let live small investors. Rs 100/- MV is centre point to disied bull stocks,small stocks. …..MBREDDY